Bio

Anne-Mari Kivimäki (1976) is one of the most interesting contemporary Finnish folk music composers and musicians and has developed her own playing style called accordion trance. She tours in Finland and abroad both as a solo performer and with her bands: the experimental ethno-techno act Suistamon Sähkö and Anne-Mari Kivimäki Ensemble. Kivimäki also conducts the 10-piece orchestra Lakkautettu kylä (A Closed Down Village), works as a researcher-musician, and composes and performs music for theatre and film productions.

Kivimäki has represented Finland at international festivals and concert stages since 1996, and in addition to Europe, she has toured extensively in Russia. Kivimäki and her accordion have travelled from Viena Karelia to Siberia to Mozambique to New York.

Kivimäki won the Artist of the Year award at Finland’s first-ever Etnogala in 2017, and the album Lakkautettu kylä received awards and prize nominations in Germany and Finland (E.g., Finnish Emma prize nomination and Preis der Deutschen Schallplattenkritik). The album also reached number 10 on the prestigious World Music Charts Europe list. Kivimäki has also written music for award-winning films. The short film Devil’s Lungs received the award for best VR 360° film at Vienna Film Festival in 2018. The short film Kaivos was selected for Tampere Film Festival’s domestic competition in 2019. Music video for Suistamon Sähkö’s song Kutsu, composed by Kivimäki, was nominated for Emma prize and won the main prize at the Oulu Music Video Festival in 2021. Kivimäki has also been selected to perform at several showcase festivals. (E.g., Folk Alliance International in US in 2020, GlobalFest in US in 2021, Eurosonic in Netherlands in 2021 and 2022, Tallinn Music Week in Estonia in 2020 and 2021, and Arctic Paradise in Finland, 2016.)

Kivimäki and her accordion have travelled from Viena Karelia to Siberia to Mozambique to New York.